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Kamloops green dream home no energy hog
August 10, 2010
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun
It may not have been cheap to build, but a “green dream” demonstration house in Kamloops will be cheap to maintain.
The 3,000-square-foot home located in the Sun Rivers development is so loaded with energy-efficiency features that the estimated net cost for a year’s worth of electricity will be zero.
A rooftop array of solar photovoltaic panels generate enough power to warrant installation of a dual-purpose electricity meter that tracks the amount of energy consumed as well as surplus power dispatched onto the grid when the home doesn’t need it.
The insulation rating of the exterior walls is off the map — R44 compared to R12 for conventional fibreglass insulation in a 2X4 lumber stud wall.
An extended list of other features, ranging from 2.5-centimetre-thick recycled rubber shingles to a living-room waterfall that balances interior humidity, make it one of the most technically complex and modern homes built anywhere in the country.
The house is the product of a collaboration among several organizations, including the Canadian Home Builders Association, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Thompson Rivers University, and is one of 15 CMHC-supported “Equilibrium” green home projects that are either complete or underway across Canada.
The Kamloops home was designed by a Thompson Rivers University student, and the university’s construction trades program provided the student labour to build it.
